The Nature,Correlates, and Conditions of Parental Advocacy in Special Education

Although parents often advocate for the best educational services for their children with disabilities, few studies examine parents’ advocacy activities; identify parent-school relationship, parent, and student correlates of advocacy; or describe the conditions of advocacy. Responding to a national, web-based survey, 1087 parents of students with disabilities completed a 163-item questionnaire. A seven-item Special Education Rights and Advocacy Scale converged on a single factor. Higher levels of advocacy were found among parents who enacted their procedural safeguards, reported less satisfactory partnerships with schools, and were less satisfied with educational services. Parents engaging in the highest levels of advocacy described negative experiences, with schools refusing services, acting disingenuously, lacking trained personnel, and communicating poorly. Conversely (and with some exceptions), parents engaging in lesser amounts of advocacy reported positive experiences, were satisfied, and felt that their IEP teams were collaborative. High levels of parental advocacy may be a reaction to poor relationships with and behaviors by the school. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Shining Light on Language for,in, and as Science Content

The work of science is a linguistic act. However, like history and philosophy of science, language has frequently been isolated from science content due to factors such as school departmentalization and narrow definitions of what it means to teach, know, and do science. This conceptual article seeks to recognize and recognize—to understand and yet rethink—science content in light of the vision of science expected by academic standards. Achieving that vision requires new perspectives in science teaching and teacher education that look into the role that science language expectations play in science content. These perspectives reposition attention to language from a hidden, overlooked, or outsourced aspect of science teaching, to one at its core. To help bring teachers and teacher educators into this integrative view of science content, this article offers a mirror, a prism, and a lens as three metaphorical tools to explore the essential roles that language plays for, in, and as science content. The reflection, refraction, and refocusing of science content reveal complex science language expectations that function alongside facts, figures, and formulas of science as gatekeeping mechanisms that, once noticed, cannot be ignored or marginalized in science teaching and science teacher education.     

Finding the Hook: Computer Science Education in Elementary Contexts

The purpose of this study was to investigate how elementary teachers with little knowledge of computer science (CS) and project-based learning (PBL) experienced integrating CS through PBL as a part of a standards-based elementary curriculum in Grades 3–5. The researchers used qualitative constant comparison methods on field notes and reflections to describe the teachers' participation in professional development to create CS-infused projects to be implemented with their students. Categories that emerged included standards integration, student autonomy, and challenges of infrastructure and time. The data are from the first 6 months of a 3-year, National Science Foundation-funded project. (Keywords: computer science, project-based learning, integration, elementary curriculum)     

Fit for a Bayesian: An Evaluation of PPP and DIC for Structural Equation Modeling

Despite its importance to structural equation modeling, model evaluation remains underdeveloped in the Bayesian SEM framework. Posterior predictive p-values (PPP) and deviance information criteria (DIC) are now available in popular software for Bayesian model evaluation, but they remain underutilized. This is largely due to the lack of recommendations for their use. To address this problem, PPP and DIC were evaluated in a series of Monte Carlo simulation studies. The results show that both PPP and DIC are influenced by severity of model misspecification, sample size, model size, and choice of prior. The cutoffs PPP < 0.10 and ?DIC > 7 work best in the conditions and models tested here to maintain low false detection rates and misspecified model selection rates, respectively. The recommendations provided in this study will help researchers evaluate their models in a Bayesian SEM analysis and set the stage for future development and evaluation of Bayesian SEM fit indices.     

Here for You: Attachment and the Growth of Empathic Support for Friends in Adolescence

Attachment was examined as a predictor of teens’ empathic support for friends in a multimethod longitudinal study of 184 U.S. adolescents (58% Caucasian, 29% African American, 13% other) followed from ages 14 to 18. Adolescents’ secure state of mind regarding attachment at 14 predicted teens’ greater capacity to provide empathic support during observed interactions with friends across ages 16–18 (B_average = .39). Teens’ empathic support was generally stable during this period, and less secure teens were slower to develop these skills. Further, teens’ attachment security predicted the degree to which friends called for their support (B_average = .29), which was associated with teens’ responsiveness to such calls. The findings suggest that secure attachment predicts teens’ ability to provide empathic support in close friendships.     

Formatively assessing prospective teachers’ skills in leading mathematics discussions

Educational Studies in Mathematics - Mathematics discussions are important for helping students to develop conceptual understanding and to learn disciplinary norms and practices. In recent years,...     

A Systematic Review of Research on Personalized Learning: Personalized by Whom,to What,How, and for What Purpose(s)?

Educational Psychology Review - Teachers, schools, districts, states, and technology developers endeavor to personalize learning experiences for students, but definitions of personalized learning...     

Assessment matters: Between the ideal and the practical: Using assessment to find the balance

Rishi Sriram, T. Laine Scales, and Meghan Oster share how the assessment efforts of Baylor University's Engaged Learning Groups have led to effective advocating for program improvement as well as increased administrative support.     

Vegetables at Any Cost: How the Media Markets Children’s Unhealthy Food Preferences in North America

This editorial explores the recent endorsement by the North American media of blending, or ‘disguising,’ vegetables in other foods as a strategy for encouraging children to eat vegetables. The author argues that the myriad of media such as books, television programs, and internet sites that promote diverse, and often inconsistent, advice on children’s nutrition contributes to the challenge, rather than aids, parents and teachers in successfully encouraging children to develop healthy food preferences. In this editorial, a sample of media promoting the disguising vegetable strategy are presented and compared to research recommendations for children’s healthy food preference development. To promote this strategy, the media were found to draw upon a variety of authority sources and stress the necessity of young children eating adequate servings of vegetables. Such advice was found to contrast with research recommendations for developing children’s long-term healthy nutritional behaviours. In light of such findings, the editorial concludes with recommending areas needed for future research and practice.     

Examining the Perspectives of Latino Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Towards Advocacy

Rapidly becoming the largest ethnic group of American students, compared to White students with disabilities, Latino students with disabilities receive less services and their parents are more likely to struggle to receive services. Yet, it is unclear how Latino families advocate for their children with disabilities including how cultural values facilitate their advocacy efforts. In this study, four focus groups were conducted with 46 Latino parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Parents reported advocating by being assertive but not aggressive, being involved in school activities, communicating with the school and documenting the communication, and relying on knowledge and faith. Parents also reported facilitators (i.e., knowledge and resources, increased parent-school communication, and greater peer support) and barriers (i.e., poor school experiences, school related-stress, and stigma and discrimination) to advocacy. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.